About us

The purpose of this project is to discover the genetic connections, if any, between Parkins and Perkins families and the genetic connections among Perkins families throughout the world. It is hoped that Parkins and Perkins males who have had Y chromosome DNA analysis will send their results with their Parkins/Perkins ancestry to the coordinator to add to a database of tests. The database will then facilitate matches between descendants of the same individual where written evidence of such a connection is unknown. All spelling variants of Perkins are welcome to join the study.

The more people who test the greater the opportunity to match people to specific lines and assist them in finding documentation of their relationship.

Some questions we hope to answer:

What are the genetic relationships among the Parkins and Perkins families of Pilston, Monmouthshire in Wales; Ufton Court, Berkshire; Newent, Gloucestershire; Orton-on-the-Hill, Leicestershire; Lincolnshire; Bunny, Nottinghamshire; Hillmorton and Marston, Warwickshire; Madresfield, Worcestershire; Sheffield, Yorkshire; and London, in England?
What are the relationships among the Parkins/Perkins immigrants to colonial New England and Virginia?
What are the relationships among the Parkins/Perkins immigrants to the Caribbean islands?
What are the relationships among the Parkins/Perkins immigrants to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India?
What are the relationships, if any, among the Parkins, Perkins, Parkin, Perkin, Parkinson, Perkinson, Perkipile, or Perquin families of Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Scandinavia and France?
There are discussion lists for all of the variant names in this study at Rootsweb.com and at Genforum.com. There is a web site for the Rootsweb Perkins-L list at Perkins List Home Page. There is a Parkins One Name Study by Mr Vivian J. Parkins. There is a Perkins One Name Study being done by Mr Robert E. Scales.

The British Isles have been populated by successive waves of invaders. The pre-historic population appears to have been related to the Basques. They were followed by the Picts, the Celts, the Romans, the Angles, the Saxons, the Norwegians, the Danes, and the Normans. Scotland had an influx of Celts from Ireland and of Norwegians. Another Celtic out-migration was to Brittany in the 600s A.D.

The earliest origin of the Parkins/Perkins name has been ascribed to a Pierre de Morlaix alias Perkins, a minor official to the Despenser family in the 14th century. Part of the purpose of this study is to try to determine his origin by looking at the DNA of his supposed descendants. See, the , and, , London: Elliot Stock, (1892), p.35 et.seq. The descendants of John Perkins of Ipswich, Massachusetts, appear to have the best claim to descend from Peter Morley alias Perkyns.

In the 1500s and 1600s there were a number of social, religious, and economic causes of widespread emmigration from England to Ireland and the Americas. In following centuries this spread to India, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In designing our test objectives we have concentrated on identifying these early immigrants and their children. The hope is to tie families in the British Colonies or former colonies to their family of origin in the UK.

This section will attempt to list the names, dates and locations of Parkins and Perkins immigrants to British Colonies with the names of their sons. Much of the initial information comes from the following sources:

North Carolina?

South Carolina?

The following immigrants to North America have been believed to be related to each other:

Rev. William Perkins of Topsfield, Massachusetts (Half brother of Edward of Conn?).

Edward Perkins of New Haven, Connecticut (Half brother of William of Topsfield?).

John Perkins Sr., of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Isacc Perkins of Ispwich, Massachusetts (Cousin to John Sr. of Ipswich?).

Abraham Perkins of Hampton, New Hampshire (Cousin to John Sr.?)

William Perkins of Dover, New Hampshire.

Tests have been done on a descendant of John Perkins of Ipswich, and of Edward Perkins of New Haven. Results are expected soon for a descendant of Abraham Perkins of Hampton, New Hampshire. The preliminary results indicate that John and Edward are NOT related.